Falls of the Hinterlands Why should I care

It was definitely his scent.

Zula had been looking for Nikan for about a week now. She had gone back to Arrow Lake first, but she ended up alone there. They had left. He had left. There had been no tracks, and only faint familiar smells. That had worried her, how long have I been gone? she had thought. 

She had been living a terrifying reality for the last couple of days - or weeks, or months, she did not know for certain. Her wound must have gotten infected and spread to her blood. A fever had made her wander deliriously to places she couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember anything - what she did, what she ate, how she survived. When she woke up from the fever dream, she felt different. Less Zula. Less innocent. It frightened her. What part of her dreams had been real? But in the chaos that was her mind, one thing rang clearly - Nikan. She had to find him. 

Now, Zula was both exhausted and tired. Exhausted from walking for days on end, traversing two mountain ridges, and tired of the uncertainty. Not knowing if she was going in the right direction, not knowing if she would ever find him. But she was a good tracker, and it had not rained yet so his scent was still there. Faint, but there. 

And when the wind blew her way, she was certain. It was definitely his scent, clear as day. He was close, so was another wolf - perhaps Serem. So she stopped in her tracks, pointed her muzzle to the sky and howled.